Search

Some genius has built his own BB-8 droid for £100

Be honest. The moment you saw that little spherical scamp rattling across the dusty plains of the first Star Wars trailer, you wanted one.

You had no idea how it would navigate stairs, but you were willing to move to a bungalow to make it happen.

Well now, thanks to the ingenuity of an industrial designer by the name of Christian Poulsen, you can now make your own BB-8 - robotic star of the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens - in 24 hours, for about £100.

Okay, so your BB-8 might not look as slick as Poulsen's by virtue of you (probably) not being an experienced industrial designer and (definitely) not having access to a CNC milling machine, but where there's a will...

The bulk of Poulsen's build is based around a Sphero - a spherical robotic toy you can pick up for about £90. By (carefully) cutting into the body of the Sphero, Poulsen was able to insert a neodymium magnet (which are a lot cheaper than they sound).

It was then a case of going about building BB-8's magnetic head, adding some paint and raising the envy levels of the internet. Simple.

You can find out how to build Poulsen's project over on his Makezine page. Best set yourself a slightly easier deadline than Poulsen - say, 16 December?

And once again, our hats go off to Poulsen. The Force (and design capabilities) are strong with this one.